Over-rated / Under-rated #1: Rory Lobb

[BontlowSzn]

C for me. I would've said B until witnessing how he performed in the final against Hawthorn.

Looks in incredible condition this pre season too. Amazing turn around. Seemed like he had both feet out the door mid year.

[Jasper]

Properly Rated B
We knew what we were getting and his ability to adapt to a difficult position of being out of our best 22 highlights the positives of his character.
Onward and Upwards from my perspective.

[Go_Dogs]

I’m optimistic on what Lobb can deliver after a better stretch of training in the position, learning the structures and strengths / weaknesses of his fellow defenders.

im going with ‘C’ because I think he could become an AA defender this year.

his ability to take marks has been proven, he’s one of few who played well in our final (big game proven) and he’s actually a good distributor of the ball by foot.

[Rocco Jones]

Yeah a C for me. Seems a natural down back and I think KPDs are undervalued in general, well the good ones.

[SonofScray]

B

He has gone up in my estimations not just because of the form line, but the character he showed in accepting the move down back and the team first mentality attached to that. For a big fella with a bit of swagger I think he has set a good example there and he backs it up with a professional approach to his training etc.

[Grantysghost]

a) It's all gonna go bad.

I was a little flippant with this was time poor.

Expanding on it over his career Rory has struggled with consistency. I loved the end to his year as did everyone else and he's somehow done something I've never seen before; gone from whipping boy to cult hero in the space of a few months. It's unheard of !

Of course the question is can he keep it up? It will be interesting. I expect more work goes into him from the opposition next season which will be a challenge, and the form whilst unbelievable won't stay at that high level all season.

I sincerely hope he can fight through any challenges that come along and keep up the consistency as a defender, I'm excited to see if he can do it. He seems super happy atm, but one swallow and all that. He was basically trolling the club on social media not that long ago.

[Vred]

B edging C. Love what he was doing at CHB, and really reckon with a proper preseason as a defender he'll come on as one of the leagues best.

[Eastdog]

I will go B. Really impressed with his move behind the ball. He played really well there and was a huge shining light in that elimination all final loss.

[MrMahatma]

B. He's been good, and rated as so.

He's also proven his whole career he can be "good" for a bit and then disappear. So... the jury should, rightfully, still be out on this chapter.

[Rusty12]

C - under-rated.

Some guys just seem to cop the focus on supporters.
He plays different to his size suggests, perceived as a different cat etc, undairly.
I have no doubt, if he played the Marra role, for the same minutes, you would end up with a similar total goals or output.
One is on 500k, the other will be looking for 1mil++
Looked great down back, without having to cop constant body work.

[Dogs 24/7]

C - under-rated.

Some guys just seem to cop the focus on supporters.
He plays different to his size suggests, perceived as a different cat etc, undairly.
I have no doubt, if he played the Marra role, for the same minutes, you would end up with a similar total goals or output.
One is on 500k, the other will be looking for 1mil++
Looked great down back, without having to cop constant body work.

I've been converted over to a Lobster supporter. Mates who support other clubs haven't worked how effective he has become for us.

[jeemak]

Lobb was the first or second target in his most productive year at Freo in 2022, playing almost 97% time on ground. We get him in as someone Bevo might actually play as a mature second ruck/ forward and play him 85% time on ground as the third target with supporters wondering why he wasn't living up to expectations........

At times he was genuinely shit, but in 2023 he was on a hiding to nothing in terms of expectations. Darcy and JUH coming along strongly didn't help him, and honestly, both of those guys have exceeded my expectations vs. where I thought they'd be.

Back to Lobb, what an attitude the guy has vs. the perception of him as a team player. He's taken on a new challenge for the betterment of the club and dominated, while giving us new hope for a future where we can actually intercept and get clean ball out of defence. I'm all in on him, legend.